The Smarter Growth Alliance for Frederick County supports the proposed Climate Emergency Resolution. Frederick County is already experiencing impacts related to the changing climate, including more frequent flood events that increase County expenditures on infrastructure repairs and emergency services. Additionally, our farming community is doubly impacted from too much water at some times and too little at others.
The Climate Emergency Resolution acknowledges the multiple threats to Frederick County as the result of the changing climate and charts a course for action that includes:
- Establishing a multi-disciplinary work group to assess the County’s climate-related risks and develop a plan to achieve net zero emissions and strengthen our resilience in facing climate impacts.
- Setting clear targets to meet necessary net zero goals, increasing the likelihood of a livable future for our children.
- Directing the Council and the Administration to consider all significant decisions following the resolution’s passage through the lens of the climate crisis.
To respond to a global climate crisis, every community must do its part to cut greenhouse gas emissions and draw carbon out of the atmosphere. The Interagency Panel on Climate Change advises the global population to cut current rates of net zero greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.
The proposed Climate Emergency Resolution will create an emissions baseline, establish achievable goals, and outline a clear path toward those goals. Additionally, the Resolution will mobilize resources and engage citizens at the level necessary to confront this crisis.
So far, only 8.8% of the US population is protected by a climate emergency resolution (12 Counties and 77 jurisdictions in total). Montgomery County is the only county in Maryland to adopt a resolution thus far. This is an exciting opportunity for Frederick County to be a leader in responding to the climate crisis with multidisciplinary expertise, a focused and coordinated effort, and broad community mobilization.
Smarter Growth Alliance for Frederick County 